Multi-application smart card device software solution for smart cardholder reward selection and redemption

ABSTRACT

A system for facilitating reward selection and redemption for a loyalty program is disclosed. The system includes a point-of-sale (POS) device that is capable of monitoring and processing a reward redemption. The POS device informs a participant of the loyalty program as to what rewards are available for redemption. The participant is given an opportunity by the POS device to select the desired reward for redemption. Alternatively, the POS device allows the participant to defer redemption of the available rewards.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/365,711, filed Feb. 11,2003, claims the benefit of priority under 35U.S.C. §120 from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.60/399,000, entitled “MULTI-APPLICATION SMART CARD DEVICE SOFTWARESOLUTION FOR SMART CARDHOLDER REWARD SELECTION AND REDEMPTION”, filed onJul. 26, 2002, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to reward selection andredemption in a loyalty program. More specifically, the presentinvention relates to a method and system for facilitating rewardselection and redemption in a loyalty program.

Under conventional practice, participants in a smartcard- orelectronic-based loyalty program generally receive their rewardsautomatically without being given any opportunity to decide whether theywish to receive or redeem such rewards. Typically, once a participant'sreward level has reached a specific threshold that entitles theparticipant to receive his/her reward, the reward is automatically givenout to the participant. The participant is not offered a chance tochoose whether to redeem or defer the reward. Due to practicalconstraints, automatic reward redemption may be desirable in certainsituations, such as, a situation where the reward to be given isrelatively small. In other situations, however, automatic rewardredemption may lead to customer dissatisfaction. For example, if aparticipant is entitled to receive a reward in the form of a substantialdiscount for a future purchase and this discount is automaticallyapplied without first consulting the participant, the participant mayfeel dissatisfied by the missed opportunity to fully take advantage ofthe reward which s/he has earned. Such dissatisfaction may eventuallyimpact participation in a loyalty program. As more and more participantsbecome unhappy with the way rewards are redeemed, these participants areless likely to continue to participate in the loyalty program which, inturn, leads to loss of business.

Hence, it would be desirable to provide a method and system that iscapable of facilitating reward selection and redemption in a loyaltyprogram to improve customer satisfaction.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system for facilitating reward selection and redemption for a loyaltyprogram is disclosed. In an exemplary embodiment, the system includes apoint-of-sale (POS) device that is capable of monitoring and processinga reward redemption. The POS device informs a participant of the loyaltyprogram as to what rewards are available for redemption. The participantis given an opportunity by the POS device to select the desired rewardfor redemption. Alternatively, the POS device allows the participant todefer redemption of the available rewards.

Reference to the remaining portions of the specification, including thedrawings and claims, will realize other features and advantages of thepresent invention. Further features and advantages of the presentinvention, as well as the structure and operation of various embodimentsof the present invention, are described in detail below with respect toaccompanying drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical orfunctionally similar elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram illustrating an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 2-15 are simplified schematic diagrams illustrating operations ofan exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention in the form of one or more exemplary embodimentswill now be described. FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram illustratingan exemplary embodiment of the present invention. This exemplaryembodiment is a system 10 that includes a point-of-sale (POS) device 12and a host computer 14. The POS device 12 and the host computer 14 areconnected to each other via a communication link 16. The communicationlink 16 includes a dialup connection, a dedicated connection such as aT1 line, a computer network and the like.

The POS device 12 further includes a reward control application 18. Inone exemplary implementation, the reward control application 18 isimplemented as control logic and/or modules using computer software. Aswill be further described below, the reward control application 18directs the POS device 12 to process pending transactions for rewardpurposes and allows a participant in a loyalty program to view therewards that are available for redemption and choose when to redeem suchrewards.

The POS device 12 also includes other components and/or applications(not shown) that may be needed to facilitate completion of transactions.For example, the POS device 12 may include a payment application (notshown) that facilitates payment for a transaction. Where appropriate,the reward control application 18 interacts with these other componentsand/or applications to properly monitor and control redemption ofrewards relating to the loyalty program. It should be realized by aperson of ordinary skill in the art that the components and/orapplications included in the POS device 12 may be implemented in amodular or integrated manner. In other words, the respectivefunctionality of these components and/or applications may be implementedand distributed amongst one or more modules within the POS device 12.

In one exemplary embodiment, the POS device 12 is equipped to functionin cooperation with a smartcard 20. The smartcard 20 includes one ormore applications. One of these applications includes, for example, aloyalty application that relates to a loyalty program of which thesmartcard-holder is a participant. The loyalty application may includeinformation relating to the loyalty program and the smartcard-holder. Aswill be further described below, the applications and information storedin the smartcard 20 are used by the reward control application 18 tofacilitate reward redemption.

In one exemplary embodiment, the reward control application 18 operatesin a standalone or offline manner. In other words, the reward controlapplication 18 by itself is able to handle reward redemption requestedby a smartcard-holder. Statistics and other accounting and historicalinformation is periodically transmitted from the POS device 12 to thehost computer 14 via the communication link 16 for settlement andaccounting purposes. However, it should be understood that,alternatively, the reward control application 18 may also function incooperation with the host computer 14 to handle reward redemption.

In an exemplary embodiment, the option to accept or defer the redemptionof an earned reward has two configuration options. The first option isto configure at the loyalty program level and the second option is toconfigure at the POS device level on the host computer 14. In oneexemplary implementation, the POS device level settings and the loyaltyprogram level settings reside in the POS device 12. At the programlevel, there are two set up options. One option is that the program isdefined as auto redemption only. The second option is that the programis manual redemption capable. For programs that are set up for autoredemption, the POS device 12 is configured to offer only autoredemption (regardless of the POS setting). For programs that are set upfor manual redemption, the POS device 12 controls whether the POS device12 actually displays the manual redemption or auto redemption option,i.e., either option is available.

The reward control application 18 operates in the following exemplarymanner to control the POS device 12 in order to handle reward selectionand redemption. Referring to FIG. 2, the POS device 12 initiallydisplays two options for selection. The selection can be made by eitherthe smartcard-holder or a store clerk handling the transaction. The twooptions are the payment option and the reward option. If the paymentoption is selected, then the POS device 12 simply processes thetransaction as a payment using, for example, a payment application. Thatis, this transaction is not to be counted for reward purposes in theloyalty program.

On the other hand, if the reward option is selected, then the rewardcontrol application 18 is invoked. Optionally, the POS device 12 may beconfigured to invoke the reward control application 18 once thesmartcard 20 is inserted into the POS device 12.

FIG. 3 illustrates what the POS device 12 will show on its display whenthe reward option is selected. When the reward option is selected, thepending transaction is to be counted for reward purposes in the loyaltyprogram. Three options are displayed for selection, namely, the saleoption, the void option and the refund option.

The sale option is selected when the transaction is a sale andinformation from this sale is to be collected for reward purposes. Thevoid option is selected when the pending transaction is to be voided. Anumber of situations may arise requiring the pending transaction to bevoided. This may happen when, for example, incorrect transactionalinformation has been entered. The refund option is selected when apreviously executed transaction is to be reversed. A number ofsituations may arise requiring the previously executed transaction to bereversed. This may happen when, for example, a customer returns apreviously purchased item, hence, prompting the need to reverse thepreviously executed transaction. In one exemplary embodiment, rewardattributed to the previously executed transaction that is to be reversedis not deducted or retracted. However, it should be understood that, inother embodiments, rewards resulted from previously executedtransactions that are to be reversed may be treated differentlydepending on the design and/or rules of the specific loyalty program.Optionally, additional information may be displayed in a toggled mannerby the POS device 12 when the reward option is selected. For example, asshown in FIG. 4, in addition to showing the three options that areavailable, the POS device 12 may also display the current time and date.

FIG. 5 illustrates the situation where the sale option as shown in FIG.3 is selected. At this point, the POS device 12 prompts for the sale orpurchase amount to be entered. In an exemplary embodiment, the purchaseamount is entered before any available, redeemable rewards aredisplayed. This is done because in some situations the purchase amountmay have an immediate impact on the rewards that are available forredemption. For example, if one type of reward is designed to give acustomer an immediate discount when the total transaction amount for asingle transaction exceeds a certain predetermined threshold, then itwould be necessary to ascertain the total transaction amount todetermine whether the immediate discount is to be applied for thattransaction.

Referring to FIG. 6, after the purchase amount is entered, the POSdevice 12 prompts the smartcard-holder or the store clerk to insert thesmartcard 20 into the POS device 12 for access, if the smartcard 20 hasnot been inserted already.

Once the smartcard 20 is inserted into the POS device 12, the POS device12 begins to process the pending transaction for reward purposes. Theprocessing includes, for example, checking whether the smartcard-holderis entitled to participate in the loyalty program offered by thesponsoring party. The sponsoring party may include, for example, amerchant, an issuer, a credit card association and other businessentity. Since the POS device 12 is specific to a particular merchant,the reward control application 18 may further include rules andregulations that are specific to corresponding loyalty programssponsored by the particular merchant and/or any other sponsoringparties. While the pending transaction is being processed, the POSdevice 12 displays a message, as shown in FIG. 7.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, once the pending transaction is processed,the POS device 12 displays information relating to one or more rewardsthat are available for redemption. Information relating to a reward mayinclude, for example, the type of reward that is available and theexpiration date. In an exemplary embodiment, the rewards are displayedin a predetermined order. For example, the rewards may be displayed in adescending order based on the respective values of the rewards. Inanother example, the displayed rewards are sorted based upon the closestreward expiration date to the farthest reward expiration date. In yetanother example, if the respective dollar amounts of the rewards are thesame for both rewards, the POS device 12 allows an additional sort todisplay the rewards based on expiration dates. A person of ordinaryskill in the art will know how to implement the desired reward displayorders.

In addition to displaying the available rewards, the POS device 12 isconfigured to allow a reward selection to be made for redemption.Depending on the rewards that are available for redemption, aparticipant may select one or more of the rewards for redemption.Alternatively, the participant may decide to defer or save the availablerewards for use on other subsequent occasions, if applicable.

FIG. 10 illustrates the situation where the participant decides toselect one of the available rewards for redemption. The POS device 12transmits the appropriate information to update the contents of thesmartcard 20 and displays a message informing the participant that theselected reward is being processed.

After the selected reward has been processed, the POS device 12 displaysan appropriate congratulatory message, as shown in FIG. 11. Differenttypes of messages may be displayed by the POS device 12. These messagesmay be customized to suit a corresponding loyalty program. For example,some messages may include information on the parties sponsoring theloyalty program such as, a merchant, an issuer and/or a credit cardassociation. These messages are defined at the host computer 14 and maybe uploaded from the host computer 14 to the POS device 12. Optionally,these messages may be defined locally at the POS device 12.

In the event that the participant decides to defer redemption of theavailable rewards, the POS device 12 accordingly displays a messageindicating that no reward has been selected, as shown in FIG. 12.

Consequently, at the end of reward processing, the participant haseither selected one reward for redemption or deferred the availablerewards for redemption at a later time.

Referring to FIG. 13, once reward processing is concluded, the rewardcontrol application 18 passes control to a payment application (notshown) residing in the POS device 12. The payment application completespayment for the transaction. The payment progress is displayed by thePOS device 12 as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. It should be understood thatthe transaction payment process is commonly known in the industry andthat a person of ordinary skill in the art will know of ways and/ormethods to implement the payment application to achieve the paymentprocess.

The following is a further illustration of the present invention. Asmartcard-holder has a smartcard with a loyalty application and apayment application. The smartcard-holder is ready to perform a purchasetransaction at merchant #1 which has a POS device that includes thereward control application 12 as described above. The smartcard-holderhas made previous purchases at merchant #1 and has already earned areward for a 15% purchase discount on a purchase of $25 dollars or moreat merchant #1. The smartcard-holder makes a purchase today of $35 atmerchant #1 and earns an instant reward of $5 off a purchase of $30 ormore at merchant #1. The POS device is configured to sort the rewards onthe basis of highest to lowest dollar amount earned and then display thesorted rewards and selection or deferral options to thesmartcard-holder.

The smartcard-holder views the POS device display and the first rewarddisplayed would be for a 15% discount which results in $5.25 off of the$35 purchase amount. The second reward displayed to the smartcard-holderwould be for $5 off of the $35 purchase amount. The smartcard-holderwould have the option to select to redeem one of the rewards or to deferthe redemption of both of the earned rewards.

It is understood that the examples and embodiments described herein arefor illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changesin light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the art and areto be included within the spirit and purview of this application andscope of the appended claims. All publications, patents, and patentapplications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference for allpurposes in their entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. A point-of-sale device comprising: a processorand a computer-readable storage medium coupled to the processor, thecomputer-readable storage medium comprising code executable by theprocessor for implementing a method comprising: receiving a selection ofa reward option, the reward option including when rewards are to beredeemed; receiving a purchase amount for a purchase transaction;retrieving loyalty program information from a loyalty programparticipant; identifying rewards that are available for redemption basedon the loyalty program information; sorting the available rewards in apredetermined order; and displaying the rewards in the predeterminedorder.
 2. The point-of-sale device of claim 1 wherein the predeterminedorder is based on one of corresponding expiration dates of the rewardsor corresponding monetary values of the rewards.
 3. The point-of-saledevice of claim 2 wherein the predetermined order is based oncorresponding expiration dates of the rewards if the monetary valuescorresponding to the rewards are equal.
 4. The point-of-sale device ofclaim 1 wherein the method further comprises updating the loyaltyprogram information upon redemption of the selected reward.
 5. Thepoint-of-sale device of claim 1 wherein the loyalty program informationis stored in a smartcard.
 6. The point-of-sale device of claim 1 whereinthe method further comprises displaying a payment option and a rewardoption available for selection.
 7. The point-of-sale device of claim 1wherein the loyalty program information is received from a smartcardused by the loyalty program participant, and wherein identifying rewardsand displaying rewards occurs while the point-of-sale terminal isoffline.
 8. The point-of-sale device of claim 1 wherein the purchaseamount is displayed before any redeemable rewards are displayed.
 9. Thepoint-of-sale device of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises:receiving selection information from the loyalty program participantregarding the displayed rewards; and processing the selectioninformation to determine whether to effect immediate redemption of aselected reward or defer the rewards for subsequent redemption.
 10. Thepoint-of-sale device of claim 1 further comprising a scroll button toallow the loyalty program participant to scroll through the rewards. 11.The point-of-sale device of claim 1 wherein the selection informationindicates that none of the displayed rewards was selected, and whereinthe rewards are thereafter deferred.
 12. The point-of-sale device ofclaim 1 wherein the method further comprises displaying a plurality ofoptions for selection by the loyalty program participant, wherein theplurality of options includes a sale option, a void option, and a refundoption.
 13. The point-of-sale device of claim 1 wherein the methodfurther comprises invoking a reward control application to allow theredemption of rewards.
 14. The point-of-sale device of claim 13 whereinthe redemption of rewards is operable to be manually performed by theloyalty program participant or store clerk handling the purchasetransaction.
 15. The point-of-sale device of claim 14 wherein theredemption of rewards is operable to be automatically performed by thereward control application.
 16. The point-of-sale device of claim 14wherein the loyalty program participant is a customer.
 17. A computercomprising: a processor and a computer-readable storage medium coupledto the processor, the computer-readable storage medium comprising codeexecutable by the processor for implementing a method comprising:receiving transaction data from a point-of-sale (POS) device; sending,to the POS device, one or more rewards that are available forredemption, wherein the one or more rewards are based on informationrelated to a loyalty program and the transaction data, and wherein therewards are sorted and displayed on the POS device in a predeterminedorder; and receiving, from the POS device, a reward selection selectedby a loyalty program participant, the reward selection based upon thetransaction data from the POS device, the reward selection including oneof immediate redemption of the selected reward or deference of theselected reward for subsequent redemption.
 18. The computer of claim 17,wherein the computer and the POS device operate in conjunction with apayment processing network.
 19. The computer of claim 17, wherein thePOS device is configured to function in cooperation with a smartcard.20. A point-of-sale device comprising: a device display; control logicconfigured as computer software to cause the point-of-sale device todisplay a payment option and a reward option on the point-of-saledevice; control logic configured as computer software to cause thepoint-of-sale device to receive a selection of the reward option at thepoint-of-sale device; control logic configured as computer software tocause the point-of-sale device to invoke a reward control application inthe point-of-sale device after receiving the selection of the rewardoption, the selection including when the rewards are to be redeemed;control logic configured as computer software to cause the point-of-saledevice to receive a purchase amount for a purchase transaction conductedusing the point-of-sale device; control logic configured as computersoftware to cause the point-of-sale device to retrieve loyalty programinformation from a loyalty program participant after receiving thepurchase amount for the purchase transaction conducted using thepoint-of-sale device, wherein the loyalty program information isretrieved by the point-of-sale device; control logic configured ascomputer software to cause the point-of-sale device to identify rewardsthat are available for redemption based on the loyalty programinformation, wherein the reward control application in the point-of-saledevice identifies the rewards; and control logic configured as computersoftware to cause the point of sale device to sort the available rewardsin a predetermined order.
 21. The point-of-sale device of claim 20wherein the predetermined order is based on one of correspondingexpiration dates of the rewards and corresponding monetary values of therewards.
 22. The point-of-sale device of claim 21 wherein thepredetermined order is based on corresponding expiration dates of therewards if the monetary values corresponding to the rewards are equal.23. The point-of-sale device of claim 20 further comprising: controllogic configured as computer software to cause the point-of-sale deviceto receive selection information from the loyalty program participantregarding the displayed rewards, wherein the selection information isreceived by the point-of-sale device; and control logic configured ascomputer software to cause the point-of-sale device to process theselection information to determine whether to effect immediateredemption of a selected reward or defer the rewards for subsequentredemption, wherein the reward control application in the point-of-saledevice processes the selection information.
 24. The point-of-sale deviceof claim 20 wherein the loyalty program information is stored in asmartcard.
 25. The point-of-sale device of claim 20 wherein thepoint-of-sale device is further configured to complete a salestransaction or void a sales transaction.